Do you ever feel like practicing your Spanish over the phone? In this lesson, we would like to share with you the most important verbs you need to know when making or talking about a phone call. Also, we will show you the words you can use if you are wondering how to answer the phone in Spanish.

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1. Llamar (to call)

This is probably the most important verb when you want to indicate that you are making a call. Let's see some useful sentences.

From the example above, you can also see that the verb atender (to respond) is another verb you can use instead of responder (to answer). Also, keep in mind that when talking about a smartphone you use the word celular throughout Latin America and the word móvil in Spain. If you prefer, you can also use the word teléfono (telephone).

4. Hablar (to talk)

Of course, you talk over the phone so if you want to express that action, you can say it like our friend Silvia from El Aula Azul:

Are you familiar with the Spanish verb gustar (to like)? Have you ever been in a situation where you didn't know whether to use gusta or gustan when talking about something you like? If using gusta vs gustan is tricky for you, here are some simple rules to help you understand the difference between gusta and gustan.

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The easy conjugation of gustar

Let's start with some good news. When you want to say that you like someone or something, the only thing you need to know is how to conjugate the verb gustar in the third person either in its singular (gusta) or plural (gustan) form. Let's take a look at a couple of simple sentences with gustar:

That's it for today. But before we leave you, we invite you to answer this very simple question so you can practice a little bit the difference between gusta and gustan: ¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre? And don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.

Haber is definitely on the list of tricky Spanish verbs. In fact, even native Spanish speakers sometimes struggle with this verb, which can be used in different ways and forms to mean different things. Even though haber is most often used as the auxiliary verb, "to have," in the imperfect tenses (e.g. Yo he comido, or "I have eaten"), it is also used in cases in which we say "there is" or "there are" in English and in other cases, can mean "to be" or "to exist."

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Along these lines, some speakers use habemos to make a reference to a group of people. In this case, you can think of habemos as something along the lines of "we are," "we have," "there are those of us who," etc. Let's take a look at the following sentence:

The Simple Present Conjugation of the Verb Haber

As we noted in the example above, habemos seems to correspond to the first person plural in the simple present tense. But is that accurate? Let's take a look at how we conjugate haber in the simple present:

Yo he (I have)

Tú has (you have)

Él/Ella ha(he/she has)

Usted ha (you have)

Nosotros hemos(we have)

Vosotros habéis (you have)

Ellos/Ustedes han (they/you have)

As you can see, hemos appears, but not habemos. So, is habemos a sort of special, alternative manner of conjugating haber?

So, What About Habemos?

Long story short: No, we can't use habemos in this context. It's incorrect! Let's look at an example:

WRONG: Habemos pocos ingenieros en la empresa.

RIGHT: Somos pocos ingenieros en la compañía (There are just a few of us engineers at the company).

So, why do some people use habemos in error? The most likely reason is because habemos is the archaic conjugation of haber in the first person plural, which as we mentioned above, is now hemos. However, it shouldn't be used to mean "we are," "we have," "there are," etc. Let's take a look at this mistake in action in the following clips:

Do you know how to say 'winter' or 'summer' in Spanish? Do you know how to pronounce the seasons in Spanish? Let's review the four seasons of the year in the language of Cervantes.

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The seasons in Spanish and English

Let's start this lesson with a quick overview of the Spanish seasons:

Las cuatro estaciones del año | The four seasons of the year

invierno | winter

primavera | spring

verano | summer

otoño | autumn or fall

Things to keep in mind

1. How do you say 'season' in Spanish? the answer is 'estación'. Its plural form is 'estaciones' (seasons).

2. All seasons except 'primavera' are masculine nouns. Also, keep in mind that you usually need definite articles next to the seasons. Let's take a look at the singular and plural forms of the Spanish seasons:

el invierno| los inviernos

la primavera | las primaveras

el verano | los veranos

el otoño | los otoños

3. Lots of countries through the Americas don't have four seasons. Instead, they may have rainy and dry seasons. In this case, you may hear the word 'temporada' instead of 'estación':

Today, we will talk about adverbs and punctuation. Are you familiar with the word aun in Spanish? Do you know when to write that word with accent on the letter 'ú'? Let's start this lesson with a little quiz. Which word would you use in the following sentences, aun or aún?:

____ si te digo la verdad, no me crees

Even if I tell you the truth, you don't believe me

Estamos ____ en la fase de entrevistas.

We are still in the interview phase.

Let's read the following explanation to find out the answer.

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The meaning of 'aun' in Spanish

The adverb aun (without graphic accent) refers to the English adverb 'even'. Let's see a couple of examples:

Do you know how to say the verb "to be" in Spanish? The answer to that question has two options: ser and estar. In fact, mastering the verbs ser and estar is one of the first challenges you need to tackle when learning Spanish. In order to help you out with this challenge, we're going to share a very simple trick with you. Hopefully, it will help you remember when to use ser and estar.

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Two words for learning the difference between ser and estar

The trick is very simple. All you need to remember are these two words: DOCTOR and PLACE. Use the former for the verb ser and the latter for the verb estar.

DOCTOR for ser

The word DOCTOR stands for the following:

Description

Occupation

Characteristic

Time

Origin

Relationship.

Let's see some examples using the third person singular of ser in the present tense:

Do you know how to say "yellow" or "purple" in Spanish? Get ready to learn how to write and say the names of the colors in Spanish.

The primary colors in Spanish

Let's take a look at this list of the primary colors in Spanish.

Amarillo (Yellow)

Azul (Blue)

Rojo (Red)

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Spanish colors in alphabetical order

Even though there are millions of colors out there, most of the time we use only a limited number of colors in our daily life. The following list features the names of the most frequently used colors in Spanish and English.

The coronavirus is one of the greatest challenges humankind has ever faced. Because of that, we are being bombarded with words such as "virus," "disease," "quarantine," and "pandemic." But, do you know how to say all those words in Spanish? In this lesson, we will review some of the most important nouns associated with the current coronavirus. But first, let's take a closer look at the word coronavirus in Spanish.

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The rules of the noun Coronavirus

In Spanish, the word coronavirus is a masculine noun made of two words: corona (crown) and virus (virus). However, keep in mind that coronavirus is just one word so there's no need for spaces or hyphens between the words that make up this noun.

Apart from that, it is worth mentioning that the word coronavirus in Spanish is the same in both the singular and the plural. Let's take a look:

Another term commonly used when talking about the masks people use to protect their mouths and noses is "tapaboca" or "tapabocas".

Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS)

This is the Spanish name for the World Health Organization (WHO)

Pandemia (pandemic)

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The Spanish term for pandemic is pandemia. Keep in mind that there is a difference between epidemia (epidemic) and pandemia (pandemic). While the former relates to the spread of a disease in a country, the latter refers to the spread of a disease throughout the world.

There are many more words that are used in the context of the coronavirus disease. However, if you want to follow the news in Spanish, there is a good chance of coming across some of the terms we just reviewed. Please, take the necessary protection during this difficult time and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.

How do you say "math" in Spanish? This is a question even native speakers ask themselves. The reason is that there are two terms that people use to say "mathematics" in Spanish. Let's find out which term you should use and explore some of the most basic math terms in Spanish.

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How do you say "mathematics" in Spanish?

Matemática and its plural form matemáticas are the two valid terms you can use when talking about the noun that refers to "the science of numbers, forms, amounts, and their relationships." Let's see a couple of examples:

There are a couple of things worth mentioning. First of all, keep in mind that the plural form matemáticas tends to be used more frequently than the singular form. Second of all, you don't need to use capital letters for any of these two terms. Now, let's review some useful vocabulary related to math in Spanish.

Basic math terms in Spanish

Basic mathematical operations

Let's see how to say the most basic math operations in Spanish:

Addition (Adición or suma)

Substraction (Sustracción or resta)

Multiplication (Multiplicación)

Division (División)

And how about the verbs that you use to indicate those basic operations? Let's listen to our friend Ester from El Aula Azul:

How many question words in Spanish are you familiar with? Do you know how to write a question in Spanish? Asking questions is one of the most important skills you need to master in the language you are learning. In this lesson, we will learn the most important interrogative words in Spanish. However, before we explore those words, let's discuss a couple of things about asking questions in Spanish.

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How do you say the word 'question' in Spanish?

'Pregunta' is how you say the word 'question' in Spanish. 'Pregunta' is a feminine noun and its plural form is 'preguntas'. Let's practice the pronunciation of this term:

Spanish question structure

Do you know how to write a question in Spanish? Let's take a look at the basic structure of a question in Spanish.

Punctuation and question marks

To begin with, you need to stick to the rules of Spanish punctuation. Because of that, when you write a question in Spanish you need to remember that question marks are always double-sided. In other words, you need to start the question with an opening question mark (¿) and end it with a closing one (?):

Yes/No questions

Let's start with simple questions. Believe it or not, for these kinds of questions your intonation is what matters the most. You basically make Yes/No questions by transforming a statement into a question. The Spanish question structure for these kinds of questions is the following:

¿ + (subject) + conjugated verb + (additional information) + ?

Please note that the terms in parenthesis are optional. Let's see a couple of examples:

A Pedro le gusta comer pizza (Pedro likes to eat pizza)

¿A Pedro le gusta comer pizza? (Does Pedro like to eat pizza?)

For negative questions, you just need to place a "no" before the conjugated verb.

No quieres estudiar (You don't want to study)

¿No quieres estudiar? (Don't you want to study?)

Go ahead and play the following clips so you can hear the intonation of the following Yes/No questions. Notice how the pitch of the speaker's voice gets higher at the end of the sentence when asking questions in Spanish:

Now that we have seen the structure of a question, let's take a look at some Spanish question words in sentences.

Top Spanish question words

It's time to review the most important interrogative words in Spanish. If you are thinking about WH questions, you are right. Let's find out what the Spanish question words are for 'what', 'which', 'when', 'where', 'who', 'why' and 'how'.

Top question words in Spanish

For your reference, here's a list of the top question words in Spanish.

What / Which (Qué / Cuál)

When (Cuándo)

Where (Dónde)

Who (Quién)

Why (Por qué)

How (Cómo)

Now, let's see each one of these question words in action with a list of some of the most basic Spanish questions you can ask.

When we want to find out someone's age or the price of an object, we combine 'how' with other words such as 'old' or 'much'. When we want to get that kind of information, we use other interrogative words in Spanish. Let's take a look:

And that's it for now. We hope you use this review of the most important Spanish question words as the perfect excuse to start asking questions in Spanish. Are you ready? We encourage you to do that and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.

Many Yabla users have been wondering about the difference between 'vivir en' and 'vivir a' when you are talking about a particular place. In this lesson, we will explain how to properly use the verb vivir (to live) with either of these two prepositions. Let's start this lesson with a little quiz. Put the missing preposition(s) in the following sentence:

When to use vivir + a

We use 'vivir a' when we want to indicate that someone is moving towards a place: a destination. Because of that, 'vivir a' is preceded by verbs that indicate movement such as ir (to go) or venir (to come). In fact, the preposition 'a' before the destination is required by the verb that indicates movement and not by the verb vivir (to live). Let's take a look:

When it comes to bringing good vibes and positive energy, there's nothing better than a nice compliment. In fact, we use compliments when we want to express respect, approval, or admiration for someone. With that being said, let's learn some easy ways to express compliments in Spanish.

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How do you say 'compliment' in Spanish?

First things first. There are various terms you can use for the word compliment in Spanish. The following are your options:

- Cumplido

- Elogio

- Halago

- Piropo

Keep in mind, however, that the word piropo is mostly used to indicate a short sentence that is concerned with the beauty of a woman:

En cambio vos no cambiaste nada; estás más hermosa que nunca.

On the other hand you haven't changed a bit; you're more beautiful than ever.

Let's enhance our vocabulary today! As you know, nouns in Spanish are defined by number and gender. However, there are some nouns that can be both masculine and feminine. Moreover, depending on the gender they have, these nouns change their meanings completely. With that being said, let's take a look at some Spanish words that change meaning with gender.

Using afuera and fuera to indicate movement

If you want to indicate that someone is going outside, toward the exterior, or even abroad (with verbs of movement), you can use either afuera or fuera. Both forms are correct and are used indistinctly in both Spain and Latin America. Let's see some sentences:

Using afuera and fuera to indicate a condition or state

When you want to indicate that someone or something is outside, or when you want to make a reference to the outside world, you use fuera in both Spain and Latin America. However, it is also very common to use afuera throughout the Americas. Let's hear the pronunciation of these two words one more time:

That's it for today. We hope this review helps you to use correctly the adverbs fuera and afuera. As you could see throughout this lesson, more than talking about afuera vs fuera, we should really treat this subject as afuera = fuera! Keep that in mind and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.

Let's talk about family! Do you know how to say words like "father" or "cousin" in Spanish? Today, we will learn how to say the names of the most important family members in Spanish. In particular, we will see how to write and pronounce those names. Let's take a look.

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How do you say family in Spanish?

Familia is the Spanish word for family. It is important to say that this is a feminine collective noun. Collective nouns are words that we use for particular groups. However, these nouns are treated as singular words. Let's see how this works:

My family is small and warm. Considering that "familia" is a feminine collective noun, we conjugate the verb in third person singular and use feminine adjectives, "pequeña" [small] and "cálida" [warm], to create agreement in the correct way.

Do you want to know how to form 'if clauses' in Spanish? The first thing you need to know is that the word "si" is the Spanish term we use for the English word "if". So, from now on, think of 'si clauses' as 'if clauses'. Let's dive into some of the grammar rules and different uses that define 'si clauses' in Spanish.

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The two parts of a conditional sentence with a 'si clause'

We use 'si clauses' when we want to form conditional sentences. In fact, all conditional sentences in Spanish have the following two parts:

1. The condition, expressed (in a subordinate or dependant clause) with the conditional "si" (the actual si clause/if clause), and

2. The main clause, which is the sentence that tells us what the result or consequence will be if the condition expressed by the si clause occurs.

That's it for today. Are you ready to write some 'si clauses' in Spanish? We encourage you to write a couple of sentences for each one of the three types of conditional sentences we have covered in this lesson. And don't forget to send us your comments and questions.

Today, we'll share with you the meaning of the interjection hala, a short slang term that's typical of the kind of Spanish people speak in Spain. Let's look at the meaning, uses, and spelling of this interjection.

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The meaning of hala

When it comes to its various meanings, hala can be used in the following ways:

1. To express encouragement or disbelief. It works like the English expression "come on":

4. To express the regular, repetitive beat of a march. In this case, you need to repeat the interjection (hala, hala)

The spelling: hala, ala and alá

One of the easy things about this interjection is its spelling. In fact, the only thing you need to know is that you can use either hala, ala, or alá to express the things we mentioned above.

What does "hala Madrid" mean?

As you know, soccer/football is a big thing in Spain. Even if you aren't a soccer/football fan, you are probably familiar with the Real Madrid and Barcelona teams. But why are we mentioning this? Well, because one of the most common expressions you'll hear from Real Madrid fans is "hala Madrid," which means "let's go Madrid". In this case, hala conveys its meaning as an expression of encouragement.

Ala in Colombia

Finally, it is worth saying that some people in Bogota, Colombia, tend to use the interjection ala when they want to get the attention of someone in a very nice way.

It can also be used to express surprise. In fact, one of the most typical expressions you can use in Bogota for indicating surprise is "Ala carachas," which is sort of saying "Wow". If you ever go to Bogota and use that expression among locals, you'll be sure to blow everyone away.

In Spanish, what do you call the little diagonal line above the final "é" in the word estudié? Do you call it acento? Or, do you call it tilde? Do you know what is the difference between tilde and acento?

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Tilde in English vs. tilde in Spanish

If you are an English speaker, the first thing to know is that the word tilde in English doesn't have the same exact meaning as the word tilde in Spanish. In fact, in English the definition is quite clear:

1 : a mark ˜ placed especially over the letter n (as in Spanish señor sir) to denote the sound \nʸ\ or over vowels (as in Portuguese irmã sister) to indicate nasality (Merriam-Webster).

However, the definition of tilde in Spanish is kind of ambiguous and creates a bit of confusion. According to the Diccionario de la lengua española, tilde can be referred to the following:

1. acento (accent) as in the sentence Raúl se escribe con tilde en la u (Raúl is written with accent on the "u").

2. sign in the shape of a line, sometimes wavy, that is part of some letters such as the letter "ñ".

If we take that definition, we can see that the term tilde in Spanish can be used for both the tilde over the ñ as well as accent marks over vowels:

Corazón (heart)

Mañana (tomorrow)

However, it is worth to say that the symbol over the letter "ñ" is also known as virgulilla.

Acento and tilde

As we previously saw, the Diccionario de la lengua española uses the term acento (accent) as the first definition for the word tilde. However, that brings even more ambiguity since the word acento has various meanings in Spanish. In fact, it can refer to the following:

1. The stress you put on the syllable of a given word

2. The graphic sign you put on some vowels

3. The diagonal line that you place on the vowels of stressed syllables in words such as cámara (camera) or útil (useful)

4. The way of speaking of certain people

The bottom line

As you can see, the definition of tilde and acento can be confusing. However, it is best to use the word acento when you are referring to the stress or emphasis you give to a particular syllable. On the other hand, if you want to refer to the graphic accent you put on top of some vowels, it is better to use the word tilde. Let's see some examples:

Ratón (mouse): Acento (in the last syllable 'tón'), tilde (on the 'ó' of the last syllable)